


Completely Unrelated

by Jackfruit



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Kinda, M/M, Mentions of a Car Crash, aro/ace side character, i did not plan it at all, i love logan's dad, i still cant tag can you tell, if you're here for logicality i hope you don't mind waiting because uhhh yea, logicality - Freeform, slowburn, slowburn as in i wasn't planning to add ships but decided ya know what screw it, this fic is a MESS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-18 19:54:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14859224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackfruit/pseuds/Jackfruit
Summary: Logan Sanders just wants to get through one day where he isn't mistaken as related to his group of friends. However, hanging out with three other boys who look shockingly similar to yourself and have the same last name doesn't really help distinguish anyone from each other.~~~Also known as that AU where they all have the last name Sanders, but are in no way related.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based off my own post: https://extremist-water-agenda.tumblr.com/post/171616920945/sanders-sides-highschool-au-where-none-of-them-are
> 
> Basic concept, the sides are all high school students and while not related, they all have the same last name and appear very similar. Hijinx ensue. I recommend seeing the additions others left on the post though, some are better then this fic as a whole tbh.

Sometimes, Logan wished he was literally _anyone_ else. Well, that wasn’t true. He had a perfectly fine life: he was confident, had a perfectly acceptable friend group, and of course, fantastic grades. So, granted, he preferred this to the thousands of negative situations other people were living in. However, that friend group he so loved (and would never admit to doing so), was exactly the problem.

You see, Logan Sanders was not related to Patton Sanders, Roman Sanders, nor Virgil Sanders. In fact, none of them were related to each other in the slightest, and Logan had the DNA tests to prove it. Despite this, the four boys had freakishly similar appearances and, of course, the same last name. Logan supposed it was natural to assume they were at least cousins, if not brothers, but he couldn’t help but get...extremely irritated every time he was asked to join the school musical, or was hugged by some stranger, or was recommended some new song by some band he’d never heard of. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, just destiny’s cruel, cruel hand.

Despite this, Logan wasn’t exactly helping the situation by hanging around his friends so often. Even with his annoyance, though, Logan refused to let Patton drive himself to school, which is why he was sitting in his car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and glancing at his watch. He wished Patton stuck to a more consistent schedule, as it was his friend would either leave his home anywhere from 7:30-7:45, and school began at 8:10. Factoring in their 10 minute drive, and you had a recipe for disaster.

Patton finally stumbled out of his house at 7:40 on this particular day, and slung himself into the front seat next to Logan.

“Patton, do you think you could get out here on a more consistent basis?” Logan asked, backing out of the parking lot. They had this conversation every morning, a routine Logan pretended to loathe, but secretly enjoyed for the fact that it was at least _normal_ for them.

“Aw jeez, Teach,” Patton had begun calling him that in first grade, when Logan admitted to wanting to be a teacher someday, “y’know, if you let me drive myse-”

“Absolutely not,” Logan cut off. Yes, there were many pros to letting Patton drive himself to school, including the fact that people would stop asking if they were brothers and if their mom made Logan drive Patton to school every day (Logan didn’t even _have_ a mother), but the very short cons list included: The one time Patton had ever drove Logan anywhere, he had almost driven them off the road to avoid hitting a cat, and you could call Logan as cruel as you want, but he’d rather save the life of himself and one of his best friends than the life of some animal that would probably die in a few years anyway.

The duo arrived at school at precisely 7:50, which gave them time to meet up with Roman and Virgil before their first class of the day. On days in which Patton was particularly late, the two would have to rush to their first period together, and people would always give them weird looks as those who weren’t friends with them (and by them, of course, he meant Patton. Logan had exactly three friends. Four if you counted his Dad) would try and puzzle out who exactly was who. As it happened, both they and their fellow “doppelgangers”, Roman and virgil, shared first period history with Mrs.Jackson. If they had time before their class, the four would sit on the steps outside the school while they waited until the last minute to head to class. The other two members of their friend group (“The Sanders Squad” Patton had decided during a sleepover. “Absolutely not,” Logan had shot back, but it was too late. Roman had changed their group chat name and everything. It was horrible), lived in town, and therefore just walked to school every morning. Logan envied the fact they didn’t have to deal with Patton making horrible, awful, not at all endearing, puns every morning.  

They pulled into the school parking lot, and Patton practically tumbled out of the car as Logan parked. Logan watched as Patton screamed, “VIRGIL!!!!!” from the top of his lungs and sprinted over to their friends. Logan snickered a bit as Virgil’s head snapped up from where he was mumbling something to Roman, just in time to catch a projectile Patton who had launched at him for a hug. Another routine, another certainty. Everyday they weren’t running late, Patton would get Virgil’s attention and give him an embrace. Something about Virgil mentioning how much he appreciated physical contact from close friends. After their hug, Patton turned to Roman, who picked Patton up bridal style and spun him around. Patton giggled, and Logan smiled softly. He was quite fond of his friends’ antics, even if he pretended to be annoyed by them. Roman set Patton down, eyes now on Logan. He advanced in about two steps and scooped Logan up in a similar fashion he had done to Patton initially. Logan squawked, not used to the affection being directed at him. _This was not routine!_ Patton and Virgil laughed, and Logan glared at them, face bright red.

“So, Virgil and I heard that the long-term sub for Mrs. Jackson came in today,” Roman said casually, still holding Logan. Logan felt himself grown indigent; he did not need to be held! He finally freed himself from Roman’s hold, brushing himself off and straightening his tie.

“Well, I hope they’re better than Mrs.Jackson at properly teaching us about US history,” Logan said, avoiding eye contact. Virgil snorted.

“Are you still mad that she mistyped the year the Civil War started on her powerpoint, and when you corrected her she said ‘Thank you, Virgil’?” Logan scowled.

“Maybe. It was still a foolish error,” Logan said, clearly and obviously not bitter. At that moment, the warning bell to get to first period rang, and the four friends headed to their first class.

Logan was able to stride ahead of the others, Patton and Roman falling back to chat while Virgil walked slightly behind him, still within talking distance.

“You alright with a new teacher, Lo? I know you don’t like things...changing...exactly,” Virgil said, voice soft. Admittedly, Logan knew he shared the same fear of change that Virgil did, he was just better at hiding it. Virgil openly protested and dug in his heels at any deviation from the norm, while Logan would quietly panic and shuffle the internal papers in his mind as he tried to make sense of the new situation. Virgil didn’t like change because it was potentially dangerous, Logan didn’t like change because it led to Logan potentially looking like a fool.

“I’ll be fine,” Logan dismissed, glancing over his shoulder and letting his expression soften, “what about you?” Virgil shrugged and quietly tugged his hood up as they arrived at their class. Logan steeled himself, for as much as he disliked Mrs.Jackson, she was at least predictable. This new teacher was a wild card, and one they’d have to deal with for a long while. Logan finally decided he was holding the handle long enough that it was mildly suspicious and yanked it open. He paused a moment, looking into the classroom for a beat before he let go of the door like it had burned him. He then promptly turned to the lockers beside the door and slammed his face into them.

“Lo-,” slam, “Log-,” slam, “LOGAN YOU STOP THAT! RIGHT. NOW.” Patton yelled, making any conversation remaining in the near empty hallways die for a moment. Logan paused for a second, mulling over Patton’s signature “Dad voice” before remembering what he saw in the classroom, which led to him banging his head into the locker once more.

Which is how Logan found himself pinned, chest to the wall, arms yanked behind his back, as Patton decided to physically stop Logan from causing his head any more damage.

“Holy shiiii-,” Virgil cut off abruptly as Logan assumed Patton glared at him. He couldn’t really tell, as his face we still mushed against the lockers. He hoped his glasses didn’t break with all the face slamming, as he had been too stupefied to even bother taking them off.

“Okay seriously,” Logan could see Roman roll his eyes out of the corner of his own vision. He grabbed the door handle, “whatever mini history professor here saw couldn’t be that baaa- and I take it back, it is that bad” Roman said, releasing the door in the same ‘help I’ve just been burned’ fashion. Logan felt Patton shift behind him a moment, before he let go. His curiosity winning against his desire to keep Logan from causing himself further harm. Either that, or he had just forgotten why he was even holding Logan hostage in the first place. Logan made a note to himself to suggest police officer as a possible future career for Patton as he rubbed his wrists and grumbled. He decided against spitefully slamming his face against the lockers again to instead catch Virgil and Patton’s reactions to the scene before them.

For inside, written large on the whiteboard in colorful markers, was:

 

_**Mr. Sanders** _

And at the desk sat a man who could’ve been a father to any one of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan has a chat with Mr.Sanders

Patton was the first one to finish freaking out about the situation, and apparently it was only because Logan had turned his head to slam it into the lockers again. He felt Patton grab his wrist and yank him out of the way, before casually shifting to lean against the lockers. His message was clear, Logan would not be doing any more bashing his brains out via locker. Drat. Roman was running his hands through his hair, eyes blown wide, as his tiny brain tried to process what he just saw. Virgil was rubbing his arms and looking from the door, to Patton, to Logan, to the lockers- over and over.

“Alright kiddos let’s just...calm down for a second,” Patton said. His voice was soft, trustworthy. That was Patton for you. It helped Logan calm down a little, as he realized how illogical he was being. Logan nodded to himself, then walked over to stand beside Patton.

“Patton is correct. We can not change the situation, best we just go in and face figuratively face our fates,” he said. Patton beamed, slinging an arm over Logan’s shoulders and nearly knocking him over.

“See? Lolo’s got the right id-” Patton was cut off as Roman snorted.

“Lolo?” he teased, looking more relaxed. Logan scowled.

“New nickname, isn’t it great?” Patton asked.

“I hate it.” Logan deadpanned. That sent Virgil into a fit of giggles, getting the most anxious member of their group to finally break out of the cycle of terror he was about to spin himself into. Logan heard Patton let out a quiet, almost silent sigh of relief. _Odd._ He didn’t have time to dwell on that, though, as Patton opened the door and made an over dramatic bowing motion. Roman, always one for theatrics, laughed and strode forward.

“Thank you, kind citizen,” Roman said, using his ‘prince’ voice. Patton giggled, and Virgil rolled his eyes before trotting into the room after Roman. Patton looked over at Logan.

“You ready?” Logan sighed.

“As I’ll ever be…”

 

Normally, if they were on time, people didn’t really spare them a second glance. However, today they looked at the group, then at the new teacher, then at the group again. The teacher, Mr. Sanders, apparently, didn’t even glance up from his phone. Logan noticed Virgil shrinking back at the attention, and Logan carefully shuffled to stand in front of Virgil, blocking him from view.

“Thanks…,” Virgil whispered

“Don’t mention it,” Logan whispered back, motioning to a quiet place in the back of the room to sit. Normally, Logan liked to sit in the front. As did Roman, who liked being the center of attention. However, in history it was an unspoken agreement to sit with Virgil in the back. Sometimes, one or two of them would sit a row ahead so they could block Virgil from any prying eyes. Today, though, they all sat in a row. Roman, Virgil, Patton, Logan, a Sanders line. Logan’s brain smacked him, that wasn’t even a pun. He needed to stop spending so much time with Patton. Roman and Patton were whispering to each other as Virgil pulled his headphones off and subtly put an earbud in one ear instead. Logan pulled out his textbook and started to review what they had learned last week, when a voice interrupted the peace.

“Hello class, I’m Mr. Sanders!” the man said, gesturing to his name on the board. A few eyes glanced back at them, and a few giggles burst out. Logan glanced over at Virgil, who flipped his hood up. The giggles died as Roman gave what was, apparently, a very threatening glare. Mr. Sanders frowned.

“I dunno what’s so funny, but anyway! I don’t know anyone’s names yet, so when I call your name just raise your hand or say here, alrighty?” Mr. Sanders said, fumbling on his desk for a piece of paper.

Logan looked over and made eye contact with Roman, who proceeded to have an eye-conversation with him. Something about Mr. Sanders getting to their names, probably. Logan couldn’t actually read peoples’ eyes, so every time one of the others tried to communicate via eyeball Logan was totally lost and just widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows in a pattern that usually fooled the other person into believing he knew that they were saying. Except once, where he must’ve said something inappropriate because Patton had shrieked and thrown an apple at his face.

“Oh! Isn’t this fun?” Mr. Sanders exclaimed. ‘ _Here it comes’_ , Logan steeled himself.

“Logan _Sanders_. We have the same last name,” Mr. Sanders laughed. Logan rolled his eyes and raised his hand. Mr. Sanders eyes lit up.

“Perfect! Next we have…,” there was the confusion, “...another Sanders! Patton,” Patton waved enthusiastically.

“Awesome! Next is...Roman Sanders?” Mr. Sanders was frowning now.

“The one and only!” Roman announced, standing up and posing dramatically. Patton clapped enthusiastically. Mr. Sanders gave a slight smile at that.

“Alright, then. Virgil...Sanders,” Mr. Sander’s voice dropped off as if someone had just shoved him off the cliff of realization. Okay, bad metaphor, Logan really _did_ need to spend less time around Patton.

“Well! Sanders is a common last name,” Mr. Sanders grinned. Logan blinked in surprise and looked over at Roman. This once he could understand what Roman was trying to say through his eyes perfectly. _‘He’s not going to ask if we’re related?’_

The class continued on without a hitch after that, no comments on them looking like their teacher, no comments on the names. Just a casual history lesson. The bell rang for their next class, and Logan shuffled after his friends and shot Mr. Sanders a suspicious look as he did so. His new teacher only smiled back.

 

~~~~

 

Logan didn’t have anything after school that day, however, Patton had a student council meeting, and Logan was Patton’s only ride home. Since the meeting would be about an hour, Logan could _technically_ go home and come pick up his friend later, but considering how much time and gas that would waste, Logan instead opted to stay. He had chatted with Virgil for about 20 minutes before his friend had to leave, something about helping his dad clean the house for a date. After that, Logan sat in the auditorium for approximately 10 minutes, watching Roman and his theatre friends practicing for some musical or other they were going to perform. Logan got bored quickly, however. Not that he’d ever tell Roman that, but he wasn’t exactly fond of acting or stage-performances.

Which was how Logan now found himself wandering around the halls, glancing into windows on the doors occasionally. Suddenly, a voice called out, “LOGAN!”

Logan turned to the right, only to see Mr. Sanders waving at him from inside his classroom. Logan gave a surprised frown. Lucky guess, he supposed.

“Yes, Mr. Sanders?” he asked, stepping into the classroom. Mr. Sanders held up a history textbook.

“You forgot this! I’m surprised you’re still here, honestly. School got out half an hour ago.”

“37 minutes ago, actually,” Logan corrected, taking the book and deciding to sit in a chair facing Mr. Sanders desk. Mr. Sanders laughed.

“But, yes. I’m staying late due to Patton, who has a student council meeting. We’re neighbors, so I drive him to and from school.”

“Well that’s awfully nice of you, Logan” Mr. Sanders smiled, leaning down to pull at his desk drawer, “do you play chess, by chance?” Logan’s lips curled up the slightest bit at that.

“I do,” he said as Mr. Sanders gently placed a board in front of them and unfolded it.

“Great! Here, want to play?” he asked, setting up the pieces. Logan nodded and helped his teacher set up the board. They began the game in silence at first, but slowly they began to make small conversation.

“So, Logan,” he took one of Logan’s pawns, “I think it’s interesting you and the other Sanders’ in this school are friends. I often find when kids share names, they either hate, or love each other.” Logan snorted, moving a knight.

“Well, I suppose we’re in the ‘love’ category. Though, sometimes I want to strangle them,” Logan took one of Mr. Sander’s bishops. Mr. Sanders laughed.

“Along with that, it does get irritating when people assume we’re related. In fact, I’m surprised you didn’t ask us,” Logan sat back as Mr. Sanders stared at the board, eyebrows furrowed.

“Really? You don’t even look that similar,” another one of Logan’s pawns gone, “actually, I got asked if I had any kids that went to this school today. I would’ve brushed it off, if I wasn’t asked multiple times by both students and faculty.”

“Ah, they assume we’re related then? Well, unless you gave away any children about 16 years ago, I don’t think you are,” Logan took a pawn this time.

“Oh? Not to pry but...are you adopted then?” Mr. Sanders asked, gently, as if he was worried he was going to offend Logan somehow. Logan just shrugged and nodded.

“Roman and I are both adopted. Not by the same people, of course, but I figured before the DNA test that if any of us were related, it’d be him and me,” Mr. Sanders lost a knight.

“You all actually took DNA tests?” Mr. Sanders laughed. Logan looked at him and smirked.

“I have the papers, if you want them,” Mr. Sanders probably would’ve done a spit-take if he had been drinking something.

“Noooo thanks, I’m good,” he grinned. Logan chuckled.

“So, yes, it’s just been me and my father. I’m glad he’s not married, nor will he ever be, because we have enough Sanders running around as is,” Logan said, moving forward one of his knights. He saw a question forming on Mr. Sander’s tongue and quickly answered it before it was asked.

“No tragic backstory, he’s just aroace,” he stated. Mr. Sander’s question turned to a, “Ah, I see.”

Logan managed to take Mr. Sander’s queen. Mr. Sanders frowned and moved forward a pawn.

“So, how often are you four mixed up? I just want to know how much I’ll be questioned about being your father.” Logan sighed.

“About once a day, if not more. You’d think people in the school would get used to it by now, but apparently not. It doesn’t help that we’re always hanging around each other, I suppose. Check, by the way,” Logan said, pulling his hand away from the board.

“Does anyone ever find that weird?” Mr. Sanders joked. Logan snorted.

“Occasionally, as they think we’re all brothers and think we should have other friends. I sometimes imagine how weirded out they’d be if they knew I had feelings for-” Logan froze, hand reaching out towards the pieces again.

“Feelings for...who now?” Mr. Sanders grinned. Logan felt his face heat up as he moved a piece.

“Checkmate. I think I should go, Patton’s meeting will be over by now,” he said, standing and hurrying away.

“Oh, alright, but Logan,” Mr. Sanders said. Logan turned to see the man’s soft smile.

“I won’t pry, it’s your life. I just think you shouldn’t let the fact you look a little bit like your friends change how you interact with them. Too much, at least,” he started to sweep the chess pieces off the desk. Logan sighed and let a small smile curl onto his lips again.

“Thank you, Mr. Sanders,” Logan said. Mr. Sander’s smiled back,

“We’re not in class, buddy, you can just call me Thomas.”

“Thank you, Thomas.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homework, talking to your dad, and ominous texts from your friend. All in a normal day's work for Logan Sanders

Logan did not procrastinate. All of his time was solely dedicated to getting things done in a timely, and on schedule manner. And so Logan shuffling and reshuffling his papers, over and over, was obviously a needed activity. As was rearranging his already perfectly sorted pens and books on his large desk. He was most certainly not avoiding practicing his big speech that he had to present tomorrow, or thinking about his cooking test in home economics, or his creative writing prompt he had yet to complete. 

“I think you’ve reorganized them enough, kid,” a voice behind him said. Logan spun in his chair to see his father, who walked in and sat down gently on Logan’s bed, setting a tray down on the nightstand that held grilled cheese. Logan sighed and shook his head, shuffling the papers again, to which his father raised an eyebrow. 

“Just making sure,” Logan muttered, avoiding eye contact. His father rolled his eyes and patted the bed next to him, an invitation for Logan to come over. Logan hesitated in his chair a moment before getting up and sinking down next to his father, who passed him the grilled cheese he had brought. Logan quietly ate as his father began to talk about his day. Once he had finished his dinner, Logan’s father sighed and affectionately ruffled his hair. 

“Now tell me, what’s up?” his father inquired gently. Logan pulled his knees up to his chest, feeling like he had back when he was seven and had encountered the first math problem he couldn’t solve on his own.

“It’s...I have this project due tomorrow, a test, and a speech,” Logan muttered. His dad raised an eyebrow, inquiring why this was causing his son distress. Logan knew he rarely asked his dad for academic help, as he was probably more astute than his father was. 

“Well, the project is creative writing,” Logan started. His father nodded.

“Could it be a poem?”

“No, it has to be a short story,” Logan sighed. His father hummed thoughtfully.

“What about the others? The project and the speech?” his father asked. Logan let out a huff.

“The test is on cooking,” Logan said, causing his father to snort a little. 

“I see why you’re concerned.”

“My cooking isn’t tha- no, you’re right it’s pretty awful,” Logan cut off his own defense in favor of a helpless shrug.

“Alright, the speech? You’re great at speeches,” his father said, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

“It’s a speech about a topic you’re passionate about,” Logan said, voice blank. His father blinked, not saying anything before bursting into chuckles.

“What? Why are you laughing?!” Logan asked, incredulously. His father attempted to hide his laughter with a couple fake coughs.

“Sorry- sorry, kid, it’s just,” he wheezed, “you’re passionate about a-a lot of things you just...aren’t great at showing it,” he said, wiping his eyes. Logan scowled.

“I know, that’s the issue I have at hand! The speech is already written out, of course, but when I did a practice version for my teacher today, she said I needed to…’emote’ more,” Logan grumbled. His father gave a gentle smile and punched him in the arm.

“Look, I know emotions aren’t your strong suit-”

“The bane of my existence,” Logan reminded.

“Yes, I’ve heard,” his father said, almost fondly- probably remembering the first time the phrase had been uttered, when Logan at age twelve began screaming into his pillow about his first and only crush (which his father sadly couldn’t relate to, so he just sat on Logan’s bed rubbing his son’s back comfortingly).

“But as I was saying, it can’t be worth all the points on your speech, and kid you don’t need to get 100% on every single assignment or test. Yeah, I’d prefer you don’t fail your cooking test, but if you do don’t sweat it! You doing your best and being yourself is the closest thing I’ll ever get to feeling love,” he murmured, smiling softly. A joke the pair had started after someone had called Logan a robot and his father an ‘emotionless scumbag’ after refusing to take the person’s number after they found out he was single. Logan grinned softly.

“You supporting me is the closest  _ I’ll  _ ever have to feeling love,” Logan replied, causing his father to chuckle, ruffle his hair once more, then stand.

“You do what you can and get to bed,” he said. Logan nodded.

“Of course.”

 

~~~~~

 

Logan realized at about 8:30 P.M. that if he needed help with creative writing, Virgil might be his best bet. Well, other than Roman, but if he even heard the words ‘creative writing’ he’d probably attempt to do the whole project on his own, which Logan certainly didn’t want. Virgil, on the other hand, was extremely good and gently supporting and contributing ideas when Logan was stuck. Satisfied, Logan remembered that Virgil’s dad had a date that night, though he didn’t know whether the date was at Virgil’s house or somewhere else. He assumed at their home, since Virgil had to go home early to clean, but he decided to ask anyway.

 

**Me: Virgil, I require assistance on a writing project. Would I be able to come over? [Sent: 8:31 P.M.]**

 

He got no response, and was about to assume that meant Virgil was in conversation with his father and/or his father’s date. However, a little  _ ‘read’  _ message popped up, leading Logan to frown. He sat for a couple minutes, staring at his paper, when his phone buzzed. He picked it up, and his blood ran cold.

  
**Virgil: _Help._  [Sent: 8:35 P.M.]**

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan breaks traffic laws and texts Roman. There is no correlation between the two. Implied prinxiety if you squint

 

Logan was about 99% sure he broke a majority of the speeding laws he usually abided by as he rushed to get to his friend. A million different scenarios popped up in his brain, and Logan had to mentally shoot down the more illogical ones just to stay calm. Virgil lived in town, so it usually took him 10 minutes to get to his friend’s house (similar to how long it took Logan to drive to school), but in his panic and speeding he was able to get there in about 7 minutes instead.

Logan stumbled out of the car and up to the door. He rapped quietly, three times, and waited. About 10 seconds passed before he realized that if Virgil really was in danger, he probably wouldn’t answer the door, and considering how dark the windows were, he assumed Virgil’s dad was out. Logan tried the handle, and luckily for him it was unlocked. He wasted no time barging inside and stumbling up the stairs. He hesitated at the door to Virgil’s room, suddenly frozen in terror at what he might find. He shook off his nerves best he could, which was hard because they _were_ (at least slightly) logical in this case.

Logan carefully opened the door, scanning the room. Nothing was really out of place, well, at least for Virgil it wasn’t. Logan fully stepped into the room and heard something from Virgil’s bed. Sniffling and gasping. Logan turned and saw a giant lump of blankets quivering on top of Virgil’s bed.

Logan felt guilty at the relief that washed over him. Virgil was having a panic attack. He wasn’t getting murdered, or kidnapped, or having a heart attack. At the sound of another shuddering gasp, Logan scolded himself mentally as he slowly walked over and pulled the blankets away from Virgil.

Okay, he took back his relief; his friend looked absolutely awful. He was curled up into a tiny ball, sweat clung to his face and hair, his eyes blown wide in terror. Logan felt suddenly very ill prepared for the situation at hand, as he had never seen Virgil have such an awful panic attack before. In fact, the only times he’d ever seen Virgil have a panic attack, Patton or Roman had been there to help soothe him. Logan was rather at a loss, except for the cold hard facts, and what he had seen the others do.

Swallowing his own panic, he sat down slowly next to Virgil and murmured to him.

“Virgil...can I touch you?” he asked in a tone he hoped was gentle. Virgil’s body shuddered as he gave the tiniest nod, but a nod nonetheless. Logan lightly took Virgil’s hand in his own and squeezed it.

“Okay, Virgil, listen to me. It’s Logan, okay? You need to breath, remember? Like you taught us,” Logan tried to keep his voice steady as possible, and he gently put Virgil’s hand on his chest, his hand over it to help hold it steady. Logan took a deep breath. In for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, out for eight seconds. He repeated the process, and Virgil attempted to copy him. Eventually, Logan felt Virgil’s breathing calm down to a more normal pace. Slowly, he helped Virgil sit up and murmured soft words of encouragement as Virgil managed to calm himself down best he could.

“Alright, Virgil, can you speak?” Logan asked, hoping his tone was gentle. Virgil swallowed and quietly stammered out, “Y-yeah. Kinda.”

Logan hesitated a moment before awkwardly trying to put his arms around Virgil in a sort of hug.

“Should I call Patton?” Logan half asked, half suggested. Their fatherly friend was much better at this sort of thing. To his surprise, Virgil pulled away sharply and shook his head.

“NO! I-I mean...no,” Logan frowned and narrowed his eyes, causing Virgil to duck his head, hiding his face behind his bangs.

“Patton’s been coming over late a lot lately I...I don’t want to bother him again,” Virgil muttered, hugging his knees. Logan sighed.

“You know Patton would never feel bothered by your presence, nor do I, by the way. However, I do agree maybe we should let him rest if he’s been coming over late a lot,” Logan scooted closer to Virgil, not sure if his friend would appreciate the gesture or prefer to be alone. To his surprise, Virgil let his head flop onto his shoulder.

“Thanks for coming, by the way. Sorry if I made you panic,” Virgil muttered. Logan shook his head.

“You did no such thing,” Logan lied, before shifting to a more honest response. “I was, of course, a bit alarmed...but I assume the message you sent was the best you could come up with while in your state of panic. I’m glad you asked for help at all.”

Virgil smiled at that, looking down and picking at his jeans. Logan felt an itch to ask what had caused Virgil to have such an outburst, but then decided against it. Instead, he subtly pulled out his phone and selected Roman’s number and sent a text. Virgil had said he didn’t want to bother Patton, but he hadn’t said anything about Roman.

**Logan: Roman, I’m at Virgil’s house and he had a panic attack. I calmed him down, but I don’t know what to do now. [Sent: 9:01 P.M]**

The response was nearly instantaneous.

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: woah what? why r u at his house so late? [Sent: 9:01 P.M]**

**Logan: It doesn’t matter. What should I do? [Sent: 9:01 P.M]**

**Príncipe es estúpido: uhhh idk i usually just distract him? like after patton or whoever calms him down i just try to get his mind off of what caused it [Sent: 9:02 P.M]**

**Logan: Okay, so what do you suggest? [Sent: 9:02 P.M]**

**Príncipe es estúpido: idk kiss him?? [Sent: 9:03 P.M]**

 

Logan sputtered, causing Virgil to look up from where he was staring at his knees.

“Who are you texting?”

“Roman.”

“What’d he say this time?”

“Nothing important,” Logan angled his phone away from Virgil, who narrowed his eyes for a moment before rolling them and directing them back at his knees, deciding to drop it.

**Príncipe es estúpido: oh my god did u actually kiss him???? also is he ur crush because i’ve been trying to figure it out for years dude [Sent: 9:04 P.M]**

**Logan: No, I think kissing would make him panic more. I’d actually like to know how you came to the conclusion that kissing would be the best course of action here. [Sent: 9:04 P.M]**

**Príncipe es estúpido: its probably not the ‘best course of action’ or whatever but it would distract him [Sent: 9:05 P.M]**

**Logan: Well next time he has a panic attack I’ll make sure you’re around afterwards to kiss him. [Sent: 9:06 P.M]**

**Príncipe es estúpido: jhfghjkdlfshjgkdjksgkjfhdjhk [Sent: 9:06 P.M]**

Logan pocketed his phone, deciding to take the first half of Roman’s advice and distract Virgil from whatever may have triggered his panic.

“So, Virgil, if you’re feeling up to it...do you think you could, erm, assist me on a project?” Logan asked, voice becoming sheepish. Virgil looked up at him and blinked, a tiny smirk curling onto his face.

“You need _my_ help with something for school?” Virgil asked, sounding a bit too delighted. Logan scowled, but decided to concede.

“I...yes. That,” Logan muttered. He walked over to Virgil’s desk and picked up a piece of lined paper. He had left his laptop at home, so he decided to write the story out by hand and type it up when he got home.

“It’s a creative writing project. We must create a fictitious short story that is at least 500 words with at least one example of symbolism,” he said sitting back on Virgil’s bed cross legged. Virgil scooted to face him, mimicking his sitting position.

“Alright,” Virgil’s voice was still soft, and slightly hoarse, “so I assume you’ll be able to handle the symbol part. So, what do you need help with?” Logan bit his lip.

“I’m just...unsure on how to start, I suppose. I’m not good at coming up with creative ideas.” Virgil hummed thoughtfully, eyelids drooping slightly.

“Well when I’m having trouble coming up with something entirely new,” Virgil yawned, “I usually think about things that affect me in real life ‘nd apply those aspects to...fictional characters and scenarios,” he murmured, eyes drifting closed.

“Virgil?” Virgil snapped awake again.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just- sorry. Tired,” Virgil muttered. Logan sighed and smiled.

“Understandable. You can go to sleep if you wish, your advice was helpful. I can just go-.”

“No! I mean...stay...please?” Virgil asked, eyes round with wild panic again. Logan blinked in surprise before relenting.

“Alright, I’ll stay. Try to get some sleep, though,” Logan suggested. Virgil nodded and got up.

“You can use my desk, I’m gonna get ready for bed,” he said, padding out of his room. Logan looked at his paper and swallowed, finally starting to write.

_Once, in a time unknown to all but those in the story, there was a boy made of sunlight and clouds…_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello naughty children it's bad decision time ft. Logan.
> 
> Alternatively titled: Patton says the Fuck word

Logan’s initial plan had been to stay with Virgil until his father came home. That way, if Virgil woke up needing assistance, or if he were to have nightmares, someone would be home. However, Logan did not consider that Virgil’s father would be gone. All. Damn. Night. 

Despite what many people might think, Logan knew the importance of a good night’s sleep and was the master of time management, so he always was in bed by precisely 10:00 p.m., so Logan began to regret his decision slightly as his eyelids drooped at around midnight. He managed to keep them open, fueled by determined stubbornness, and stumbled down the stairs to Virgil’s kitchen to make himself coffee.

At 2:00 a.m. Logan’s brain stopped fully processing everything. The world felt...weird. Normally, Virgil was the one who couldn’t explain sensations or gut responses. Logan never trusted his gut, only his head, so he didn’t like the feeling of ‘weird’ at all. Then again, feelings were weird. This was weird. Logan was tired, but didn’t think he could sleep now even if he tried. He poured himself more coffee.

At 5:30 a.m., Logan called it quits. If Virgil’s father was going to come home, he would have already. As it was, Logan needed to go home and get ready for school. Letting out a small sound, Logan shuffled out the front door and headed over to his car, weakly pulling on the handle. It didn’t open. He pulled again, still nothing. Logan then realized he had locked the door and fumbled to get out his keys. This was stupid. Cars were stupid. He hated cars. Cars were the worst. 

Luckily for everyone, probably, Logan had to take back roads to get home, and he hardly saw anyone on his way home from school, so of course no one was insane enough to be there at 5:30 in the morning. Actually, it was more like 5:40 now, but who was keeping track? Somehow, Logan managed to get home in one piece and quietly snuck inside. His father was nowhere to be seen, but his car was still in the driveway. Still asleep then. Logan stumbled into his room, flopping onto his bed. His limbs felt like lead and he didn’t particularly want to get up. However, despite his exhaustion, Logan’s brain was still obnoxiously stubborn, and kicked him into getting up. 

He stared at his computer screen for far too long as he was typing his story up, and he was pretty sure he made more spelling errors than usual. Sighing, he printed out what he had typed anyway, and stapled the typed copy to his written copy for good measure before shoving it unceremoniously into his bag. Normally, he’d carefully select the folder for the designated class the assignment was for, but this morning he really couldn’t give a shit.

He heard the sound of the door opening and closing downstairs, and he looked over at his clock to see it was already 6:45. He wondered how he hadn’t heard his father getting ready before that moment, before deciding he didn’t care. He just wanted to eat food and take a nap, the second of which he didn’t really have time for. He vaguely remembered an article on sleep-deprivation he had read to help out Virgil with his insomnia, and managed to grasp onto the fact that fruits and vegetables were a good source of...stuff and therefore would be good to eat to help function better despite the lack of sleep. 

Which was how Logan ended up in the kitchen, staring at the floor in disbelief at where he had dropped half an orange. He didn’t know why, but for some reason that was the  _ funniest  _ thing he’d ever seen, because he was doubled over, laughing hysterically to the point where tears were streaming down his cheeks. He finally picked up the orange and tossed it into the trash, picking the other half off the counter to eat as he headed out the door. Sure, it was like 7:40 now, but Patton was late all the time. He definitely wouldn’t notice. 

 

~~~~~

 

Patton had noticed. Probably. Maybe not? Logan pulled into his driveway at 7:42, which made sense because he lived about three houses away, but the way Patton was standing, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, you’d think Logan had arrived at 8:30. Logan watched Patton’s eyes go from narrowed to delighted as he spotted Logan, and kept watching as Patton skipped down the steps of his house. Logan put his arms on the steering wheel and kept watching his friend. Man, he loved Patton. Patton was the best. Patton couldn’t actually exist, honestly. He was just so nice and patient and Logan just-

“Logan! You’re kinda late, don’t you think?” Patton laughed, hopping into the car. Logan turned to look at him, not saying anything. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Patton’s expression shifted into one of concern and his eyes narrowed again.

“Hey, Teach, you alright there?” Patton asked. Logan finally lifted his head from his arms, backing out without looking.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Logan said. Patton didn’t look like he believed him. Logan shrugged, more to himself, and said with an attempt at a reassuring mumble, “m’ fine.” Patton’s frown grew.

“Okay then,” Patton said slowly, “so, Logan, did you sleep good last night?”

“Yeah, great,” Logan lied. Patton inhaled sharply.

“What?” Logan turned to look at him.

“You didn’t correct me.”

“What?”

“I asked if you slept  _ good.  _ You didn’t correct me,” Patton said. Logan stared at him a second before turning his eyes back on the road.

“It’s  _ well _ Patton,” he said, now too late. Patton sighed.

“Look, Logan,” he put a hand on Logan’s arm. Logan looked at him for another heartbeat before putting his eyes back on the road, “how much sleep did you get?”

Logan didn’t respond. His eyes were so dry. His arms felt so heavy. 

“Logan?”

The world got kinda dark at the edges. Everything was so, so heavy. 

“-gan”

Logan was so, so tired.

“LOGAN! BRAKE!  _ FUCKING BRAKE! _ ” Logan’s head snapped up, and he automatically slammed on the brake. The car screeched to a halt at the edge of the road, about to go into a ditch. Patton had his arms spread out, one over Logan’s chest as if he could block him from flying through the front window if he hadn’t…

Logan was frozen suddenly, his breathing picked up. What had he done.  _ What had he almost done?  _ His hands were shaking, his body was shaking. He couldn’t  _ breathe.  _ Patton was saying something, but he couldn’t  _ hear  _ him. 

Then the passenger-side door was opening and closing, and then the driver-side door was opening and Patton leaned over, unbuckling him. He helped Logan out of the car and now Logan was sitting in the grass on the side of the road, Patton murmuring softly to him.

“Logan?”

_ “Regret to inform...accident…” _

“Logan.”

_ “Staying with us...out soon…” _

“Oh, Logan,” Patton whispered, touching his face hesitantly. 

_ Logan launched himself into Patton’s open arms, his whole body shaking with terror. He sobbed into his shoulder. _

_ “He’s gonna be okay, I promise.” _

“Hey, Logan. It’s gonna be okay, I promise,” Patton murmured. Logan turned to face him and wrapped his arms around Patton’s shoulders, still shaking, still sobbing. Patton gently rocked him back and forth, humming softly. Logan didn’t know what had happened. Of course, he had almost swerved off the road before, when Patton was driving. Yet, he hadn’t had this  _ strong  _ of a reaction. Maybe because he was sleep-deprived this time,  _ maybe because this time it would have been his fault. _

“Hey, hey now,” Patton murmured again, voice soft, “your body is just experiencing a fight or flight reaction, right?” He pulled Logan away from his shoulder slightly and brushed a thumb over Logan’s cheek, wiping away some of the tears.

“Remember? Breathe in for four, hold for seven, out for eight, yes?” Logan nodded and copied the breathing exercise. If he wasn’t freaking out, he’d probably laugh at the fact he’d been on the opposite end of this experience the night before. 

Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. He shuddered and pulled away from Patton, almost as if he’d been burned. He didn’t like physical affection- he wasn’t used to it-but Patton always seemed to end up holding him in these rare situations. He didn’t really mind it when it was him.

Patton slowly stood and began to walk away. Logan couldn’t stop the (very embarrassing) sound of distress that bubbled to the back of his throat. Patton looked at him and ran a hand through Logan’s hair, touch soft. 

“I’m just gonna get the car away from the ditch, okay?”

“N-no...we should go. We’re g-gonna be late,” Logan mumbled. He got to his feet, still shaking a bit. Patton sighed, looking unsure.

“You sure you’re ready to get back in the car?”

“Yes,” Logan said, only sort of lying. Patton sighed again, and walked over to the car. To Logan’s surprise, he got in the driver’s side, and backed away from the ditch before Logan got a chance to move. He parked the car on the road, the passenger door facing Logan. Logan frowned and stumbled towards the door, opening it and climbing in.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Logan asked. Patton shot him a signature ‘dad’ look.

“Driving.”

“No way,” Logan shook his head. Patton huffed.

“Buckle up buddy, we’re not fighting about this.”

“I  _ always  _ drive.”

“Yeah, and usually I can respect that, but you  _ clearly  _ didn’t get any sleep, you nearly drove off the road, and had a panic attack. You’re not driving. Also, we’re not going to school. I’m taking you home,” Patton said. 

Logan stared at him, eyes wide with shock, before he attempted to protest.

“I have a cooking test in home economics!”

“Not today, you don’t,” Patton shot back, beginning to drive despite Logan not having buckled up yet. Logan hurriedly strapped himself in.

“I have a speech! And I have to turn in this project!” 

“You have to take a nap,” Patton grumbled stubbornly. Deep down, Logan knew he wasn’t going to win this one, because Patton was right. He was obviously insane if he thought he could survive the day when he had hardly been able to survive the morning. He put his head in his hands and internally screamed at himself, not even looking up when he felt one of Patton’s hands leave the wheel to land on his back in a comforting gesture.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Logan remembered exactly how exhausted he was when he hit the soft blankets of his bed. Patton shuffled over and pulled Logan’s glasses from his face, setting them on the bedside table with a chuckle before pulling the covers around Logan. Logan turned to look at his friend, who was now very blurry looking without his glasses. 

Light haloed around Patton’s head, making him look a little like he was made of sunlight. Logan’s eyes had been closing, but now snapped open. He tried to fight out of his blanket prison. Patton frowned and shoved him back down.

“Take a nap you stubborn, stubborn man,” Patton said, voice firm, but also...fond?

“Can you at least turn in my creative writing project for me?” Logan asked, voice slurring a bit as sleep finally decided enough was enough and began to tug at the corners of his brain. He was so tired, and his bed was slowly growing quite warm. Patton looked at where Logan’s backpack had been tossed when they entered the room, and walked over, pulling out the very wrinkled papers.

“Jeez, Lo, I’m surprised you didn’t put it in one of your fancy folders!” Patton exclaimed. Logan huffed sleepily.

“Too tired,” he mumbled. Patton nodded, eyes scanning the words. Logan snapped awake. Again.

“DON’T READ IT!” Logan exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. Patton shrieked and threw the papers.

“OKAY I WON’T!” Patton shouted back, holding his hands over his face. Logan nodded, slumping back down into his covers. Patton went to pick up the papers, and Logan shut his eyes. Sleep descended on him once again. 

“Hey, Lo,” Patton whispered.

“Hm?”

“Do you have any other tests...other than the cooking one?”

“No…,” Logan admitted.

“Okay. Perfect,” Patton said. Logan cracked open his eye to see Patton turning off Logan’s phone and putting it on the charger. He frowned, remembering distantly that Patton knew his phone’s passcode.

“What’re you doin’?” Logan mumbled, finally losing his battle with sleep.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Patton said. If Logan were awake, he’d take that as a sign to immediately start worrying about it. As it was, he finally felt like he was going to lose consciousness. Right before he did, though, he felt Patton brush away his bangs as something feather-light touched his forehead. He heard one of his drawers being opened and closed, then the door to his room. Open and close. Then, Logan finally let sleep overwhelm him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan's friends and Dad bug him while he sleeps.

Logan felt himself wake up naturally. That in of itself wasn’t particularly alarming, as he had such a consistent schedule that he naturally woke up at 6:00 am anyway. What  _ was  _ alarming, though, was turning over in bed, picking up his phone, as seeing the numbers 3:01 pm and about two dozen missed calls and messages. 

Logan sputtered in surprise, lunging up and slipping his glasses on his face before looking out the window, memories of earlier slamming into him. Logan put his face in his hands and groaned. Patton must’ve turned off his text tones so they wouldn’t wake him, and although that was most certainly done with only the purest intentions in mind, Logan knew for a fact the one thing one wasn’t supposed to do after pulling an allnighter was to sleep for a long period of time. It would totally throw off his sleep schedule.

He pushed that revelation into the back corner of his brain to stress over later as his phone lit up with a new message. Better deal with those, then. He picked up his phone:

 

**3 Missed calls from: Dad**

**5 new messages from: Dad**

**11 new messages from: Príncipe es estúpido**

**4 new messages from: Virgil**

**1 new message from: Patton**

 

Logan ran a hand through his hair and tapped his dad’s messages first. 

 

**Dad: The school called me asking where you were. You’re never late, what happened? [Sent: 8:15 am]**

 

**Dad: Logan? C’mon kid, pick up your phone. [Sent: 8:20 am]**

 

**Dad: Oh, Patton called me and said you didn’t feel well. Sorry to hear that, kid! I have an overnight trip today, so Patton can play doctor. I’ll cancel if you need me to, though. [Sent: 8:35 am]**

 

Logan felt a soft, fond smile grace his face. He really did appreciate his father.

 

**Logan: Apologies for the late response, I was resting and already feel much more functional. No need to cancel, I am sure I will be fine on my own. [Sent: 3:04 pm]**

The reply was immediate. Logan snorted, through his expression dropped into a frown as he read the message.

 

**Dad: Doubt you’ll be alone. Have a good night, squirt. You guys can order pizza, money’s on the counter. [Sent: 3:04 pm]**

 

Logan decided to reply back after he checked over the other messages, tapping on Virgil next.

 

**Virgil: hey shithead if you were tired you shouldve gone home [Sent: 8:12 am]**

 

**Virgil: i feel really bad dont do that again i had a heart attack just hearing about it [Sent: 8:45 am]**

 

**Virgil: dont worry about asking about your homework or assignments we got them [Sent: 10:38 am]**

 

**Virgil: were coming over. This isnt a request btw its a warning [Sent: 2:30 pm]**

 

Logan frowned. School ended at 3:15, and it took 10 minutes to get to his house from the school, so that gave him roughly 25 minutes before his friends arrived. He sighed in slightly exasperated fondness and hit Roman’s name next.

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: hey [Sent: 8:03 am]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: hey [Sent: 8:03 am]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: stop ignorin me u cowrd [Sent: 8:04 am]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: whr r u? [Edited: 8:17 am]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: nvm pat explained lol [Sent: 8:17 am]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: idk how to do this math hw hhhhhhhhh [Sent: 11:16 am]**

**Príncipe es estúpido: ughhhhhhh r u still sleeping im boreD [12:00]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: stupid patton and virgil are doing dumb best friend stuff and im loneeeeeeely [Sent: 12:01 pm]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido:** **_Message deleted_ ** **[Sent: 12:05 pm]**

**Príncipe es estúpido: i turned in ur writing project for u yw also it was vry,,,interesting ; ) [Sent: 1:35 pm]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: were comin over yEEt [3:01 pm]**

 

**Logan: Stop texting in class, Roman. [Sent: 3:08 pm]**

 

**Príncipe es estúpido: no lol [Sent: 3:08 pm]**

 

Logan rolled his eyes at Roman’s reply before finally hitting Patton’s number. He was surprised he had only sent one text.

 

**Patton: Hey Lo!!!! We’re coming over for a visit after school and we got a buncha your assignments and stuff for ya so you dont have to be behind! Love ya <3 : ) [2:58 pm]**

 

Logan smiled softly, heart fluttering a bit. Patton’s texts were always just as soft as the boy who sent them. Standing quickly and doing a quick stretch, Logan went to grab some new clothes to change into, as his were rather gross and sweaty after napping in them all day. He wrinkled his nose, slightly surprised to find less in his drawer then he was expecting. He must’ve been really tired when he got dressed, because he could’ve sworn he had at least two pairs of pants left in his drawer, but now there was only one.

Shrugging to himself, Logan quickly changed, adjusting his tie in the mirror and heading into the bathroom to quickly comb his hair and brush his teeth before his friends arrived. His friends may understand his situation, but he still wanted to look somewhat presentable damnit. 

He had just finished going over himself one last time in the mirror when the door opened downstairs. Patton had a copy of his house key, a gift from his father on Patton’s birthday the year prior. ‘Since you practically live here’ he had joked. Despite it being mostly a comical gift, Patton had teared up slightly anyway and wore the key around his neck for a good week before Logan got him a new keyring that looked like a cat, which caught Patton’s attention enough that he moved all his keys onto it.

“Hey Windows Movie Maker, get down here!” Roman’s voice boomed. There were hushed voices from Virgil and Patton before Roman said again, rather loudly.

“He replied to his texts, there’s no way he’s still sleeping and you two know it!” Roman sounded much, much closer. Logan opened the door to his room, only to ram right into the man himself, causing them both to fall backwards onto the floor.

“LOGAN!” Patton cheered, crouching down to help him up. Logan gratefully took his hand and was practically yanked to his feet.

“Thank you, Patton,” Logan said, stumbling slightly after Patton let go. Patton beamed, helping Roman up next.

“Wow, of course you’d help Logan up first, and not the wonderful amazing prince that saved your ass today,” Roman wailed dramatically. Patton giggled, giving Roman a mock bow once he was standing.

“Apologies, your majesty. Watch your language, though,” Patton straightened up and grinned at Logan, who frowned.

“What event did he save you from that requires him to bring it up like you owe him?” Logan asked, raising an eyebrow. The duo went silent and looked at each other almost nervously, and Logan internally prepared himself to chew them out for whatever stupid thing they got into this time, when Virgil piped up from where he was still standing in the doorway to Logan’s room.

“Patton forgot to study for his history exam and Roman gave him his notes.” Roman and Patton looked at Virgil before turning back to Logan, nodding vigorously. 

“Yes! That! That’s exactly it,” Patton assured, though Logan did not buy it, not really. The day Roman actually got a good grade in history that wasn’t focused on their unit on Alexander Hamilton was the day he died. Still, he let it slide because he did not want to further stress his friends with his suspicions.

“Alright. So, what’s in the bag then, Virgil?” Logan asked, finally noticing Virgil was holding a plastic shopping bag.

“Oh, Roman went shopping during lunch. I think it’s nail polish or some shiiiiiiii-ing,” Virgil attempted to hide from Patton’s glare by tossing the bag to Logan, who peered inside and wrinkled his nose.

“YES! We’re doing makeovers. You can’t say no, by the way,” Roman sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor and began to set out way too many colorful bottles in a row in front of him.

“Oh, and why is that?” Logan asked, not really wanting to put up with this silliness. Roman loved doing the others’ makeup, but Logan always refused, even something as simple as having his nails painted. He noticed Patton was wearing eyeliner, and his lashes were curled. It wasn’t that unusual, as Patton often let Roman doll him up. What  _ was  _ odd, was the fact Roman himself wasn’t wearing much makeup at all. He had some eyeliner that looked slightly shaky, like he’d put it on in the car, and some mascara, but usually he’d have some over-the-top color eyeshadow and perfect, sharp liner that people claimed ‘could cut a man’, despite not having a three dimensional form.

Logan had been so lost in thought he didn’t notice someone had wrapped his arms around him until he felt something warm and gentle against his cheek.

“Pleeeeeease Lo? It’ll be fun,” Patton said. Logan stiffened slightly before relaxing into his friend’s hold.

“Alright, fine,” Logan hesitantly freed himself and sat on his knees in front of Roman, examining the nail polish bottles. He noted one was just a clear cover coat, and selected it. Roman pouted.

“Ugh, you’re so boring!” Roman whined, but made no attempt to grab a different color. Instead, he took Logan’s right hand to get to work. Logan looked away, making eye contact with Virgil (before Virgil looked away, not liking any sort of eye contact) and raised an eyebrow. 

“You mentioned you brought homework for me?” he questioned their anxious friend. Virgil gave a quick nod and dug around in his backpack, pulling out a small stack of papers. Logan frowned.

“This is not nearly as much as I anticipated,” Logan admitted, shifting through the papers by using his free hand and his knee. Just math and science, it seemed. Virgil gave a half-hearted shrug and Patton suddenly looked at his knees. Logan had just about enough of their weird behavior, and was about to call them out, when Roman released his hand and yanked the other one towards him, causing Logan to spill his papers everywhere.

“Roman!” Logan hissed, glaring at his friend. Roman smirked.

“I can’t just leave your other hand undone,” he added helpfully, continuing his assault on Logan’s poor nails. Logan huffed and leaned against his bed, ignoring Patton and Virgil’s giggles in the background. It was going to be a long night. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Platonic logince? Platonic logince.

Logan woke up to a still dark room, feeling almost uncomfortably warm. Emphasis on the almost. He blinked a few times, trying to re-orientate himself. He knew he was in his bed, and he knew it was far too early for him to be getting up, even without having to look at the clock. He assumed it was because of his long nap earlier that day. Curse Patton for not setting an alarm.

Speaking of.

Logan recognized the warm feeling- causing him to start suddenly. He looked down to see that, sure enough, Patton’s arms were curled around his middle, face squished against his side and legs thrown over Logan’s. He didn’t remember starting the night with Patton in his bed, so he assumed his friend had just crawled in at some point. Logan frowned, a bit concerned about how late Patton had to have gone to bed in order to catch Logan off guard like that.

He couldn’t worry about that now, however, because he heard something downstairs crash and clatter, followed by a very loud  _ “SHIT!” _ Logan carefully pried Patton off of him. Lucky for him, his friend was an extremely heavy sleeper (if him not waking up with the swear wasn’t indication enough), though he whimpered and made grabby hands in his sleep. Logan huffed through his nose and picked up a pillow off the floor, placing it in Patton’s arms. He curled around it, very reminiscent of a venus flytrap. Logan was headed for the door, when he felt something around his ankle. He let out a very undignified shriek and whirled to face a tired, yet panicked looking Virgil emerging from where he’d been cocooned in a sleeping bag.   

“Wha’ was that?” Virgil asked, still sounding groggy with sleep. Logan pulled his ankle free and put his hand on Virgil’s head in an awkward sort of comforting gesture.

“I’m going to go look, it’s probably just Roman. Go back to sleep.” Virgil snorted.

“Not gonna happen, but okay,” Virgil laid back down and Logan rolled his eyes affectionately as he headed out the door and ventured down the stairs.

 

As he had assumed, when Logan flicked on the lights he found Roman picking up various pots and pans from the kitchen floor. He leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow at his friend.

“What are you up to, so early in the morning?” Roman jumped and dropped the pans he was holding once more.

“Jesus, Lo!” Roman hissed. He grumbled as he leaned down to gather up the pans again.

“That does not answer my question,” Logan said, helping Roman gather the rest of the cookware to put it away. Roman sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shrugging. Logan was surprised to see how disheveled he looked, as Roman usually looked immaculate. Now though, he still had smeared makeup on his face from before he passed out on the couch while watching movies, and his hair got even wilder than previously when he had ran his hand through it.

“Ah, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I thought about making breakfast for you all. Seems I woke you, though.” Roman laughed a little. Logan sighed and shook his head.

“You woke Virgil as well. I convinced him to try and go back to sleep, but you yelling again probably didn’t help.” Roman swore under his breath and leaned against the counter, looking Logan up and down.

“What?” Logan didn’t like this, feeling exposed as Roman regarded him. He and Roman were close, obviously, but they usually were more at odds then they were with their other friends.

“It’s just,” Roman sighed, “you scared me.”

“Excuse me?”

 

Roman turned his gaze to his socks, which had little crowns decorating them.

“Ah, well, when Patton told us what happened to- well, yesterday now I guess. He looked pretty shaken up, which didn’t help.”

“Oh,” Logan said, because how else was he supposed to reply to that. 

“Yeah,” Roman replied. He looked up at Logan’s face and frowned again.

“I- nevermind.”

“No, what is it?” Logan hated when people cut off a question or comment, it left him feeling curious, ate at his brain.

Luckily, Roman seemed to understand this and continued his previous question, “I was just wondering… why didn’t you let Patton drive? Wouldn’t that be the logical choice, as you weren’t feeling like your usual fabulous, nerdy self?” Logan froze, wondering if he should lie on this one. It wasn’t like the reason was private or anything just...uncomfortable. Then again, they were standing in Logan’s kitchen in the early hours of the morning, wearing pajamas and talking about feelings; Logan was already uncomfortable.

 

Logan took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, only just now realizing he had neglected to put on his glasses, so a small headache was forming.

“When I was eleven, my father got into a car accident.” Logan heard Roman inhale sharply.

“I was spending the night at Patton’s house at the time, so I wasn’t hurt or anything, but...I had to stay there for a few weeks until my father was released from the hospital. I visited him a few times but...God, he looked,” Logan ran his hands through his hair, similar to how Roman had earlier, and shook his head.

“I felt...a lot of things in those few weeks. A lot of weird things. Even back then, I did not like feelings, especially unusual ones.” Logan gave a hollow laugh, but then felt something warm press against him. He looked up to see Roman had approached him. Slowly, as if Logan were a wild animal, Roman brought his arms up and around Logan. Logan let himself be embraced and leaned his forehead against Roman’s chest.

“I like being in control, Roman. I guess that’s why I...panicked...like I did when I almost crashed this-well, yesterday, morning. That’s why I didn’t like the idea of Patton driving. Even when I was eleven, after my father got out of the hospital, I didn’t like him driving, and I didn’t like him driving with me. Not because I didn’t trust him, but because I wasn’t in control.” Logan closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath.

 

 _“Lo, you’re shaking,” Logan looked over_ _at Patton, who was sitting next to him in the car. They were going to visit his father today, and it was the first time Logan had been in a car since he’d heard. It had just hit him how dangerous this was, this vehicle. No matter how careful Patton’s parents were, something could happen. Something could happen to them, to Patton, and then Logan would be alone, alone, alone._

_ “Here,” there was a warm pressure on his hand and Logan looked to see Patton take it in his own, a goofy smile on his face. _

_ “Know any songs I can belt out?” Patton grinned, tugging on his seatbelt with his free hand. Logan snorted despite himself, and didn’t let go of Patton’s hand the entire ride there. _

 

“Logan?” Roman asked. Logan looked up and Roman gently wiped away a few tears that managed to sneak past Logan’s defenses. 

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for- for trusting me with that information,” Roman said. Logan huffed a small laugh.

“Not a big deal, Roman.”

“Shut up, we’re having a moment.”

The pair stood there for a few more minutes before Logan pulled away, scrubbing his eyes and heading over to the stairs.

“I am going to attempt to get more sleep, I suggest you do the same Roman, though I doubt you’ll listen,” Roman held a hand to his chest in mock offense.

“How dare you! I can listen very well thank you very much!” Logan gave Roman a playful eye roll before heading up the first step. At the last second, he turned around and looked at Roman. He considered telling Roman, he really did, but at the last second he decided to let him figure it out on his own.

“Goodnight, Roman,” Logan said, heading up to his room. He walked past Virgil, who despite promising otherwise had fallen back asleep and was mumbling something about cats and knives. 

Logan returned to his bed and looked at Patton, hair sticking out in all directions. He went to grab a pillow so he could go sleep on the floor, when a hand shot out from under the covers and yanked him back onto the bed. Logan made a surprised sound, but let himself be wrapped up in Patton’s tight embrace once again.

“Did ya’ really think a pillow could fool me,” Patton mumbled, clinging closer. Logan sputtered, but didn’t have to respond, as he heard Patton’s breathing even out once more. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Patton’s back hesitantly, feeling like they were eleven and twelve again.

 

_ The stars on Patton’s ceiling did not form known constellations, like the ones on Logan’s ceiling did, so Logan made his own constellations. When he ran out of stars on the ceiling, he struggled a bit in his friend’s grip to face him and started to trace his freckles in his mind. He got distracted, however, as he felt Patton’s breath on his face. It smelled like his bubblegum toothpaste. Logan could see his eyes moving under his eyelids, and felt his arms tighten around his back, protecting him from the world outside. _

_ Patton was beautiful, and that’s when the fluttering in Logan’s chest began. Despite it being the worst week in Logan’s life, Patton had been there. Patton made him feel safe, and cared for, and tried to make him smile despite his worry. Patton made him feel loved. _

_ So Logan loved him in return. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very unhappy with how this chapter came out but I already posted this on Tumblr and its so late already so what can ya do.

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this fic on a whim a few months ago without an outline or plan for where it was headed, so I'm sorry if the quality random dips in places. I hope you can still enjoy this, as it is my first multichapter fic (and I intend to finish it)


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